Established by the National Security Education Act of 1991, NSEP Scholarships are designed to support study of less commonly taught foreign languages and cultures, develop a cadre of professionals with in-depth knowledge of these cultures, and train future leaders and educators in international relations. Freshman through Senior level students may apply (overseas study must end before graduation) to engage in a study abroad program meeting ACI institutional standards. NSEP awards may be applied to study abroad in all countries EXCEPT Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with preference given to listed countries (including most Far Eastern, South American, and Central European countries) and listed fields of study (including sciences, business, history and politics, among others). Please note that accepting a NSEP award does incur a service obligation after graduation (approximately equal to length of time spent abroad) in a federal agency or office (including departments in the executive and legislative branches) with national security responsibilities, or in higher education.
The application must provide clear evidence of a link between your proposed overseas study and your academic and international career goals, establishing a clear plan for establishing this link.
Countries of Primary Emphasis in the 1999-2000 competition included:
Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Georgia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakstan, Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Fields of Study given preference were:
Engineering and Applied Sciences, Business and Economics, History, International Affairs, Political Science, Policy Sciences (government, public administration), Health and Biomedical Sciences, Law and other Social Sciences (anthropology, psychology, sociology).
Study of a foreign language must form an integral component of the plan, however study of a common language (Spanish or French) is permitted only when undertaken at an advanced level of competency (intermediate level when field of study is scientific) as part of other academic course work.
Languages of Emphasis given preference were:
Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Azeri, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Czech, Farsi, Georgian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Kurdish, Kingala, Macedonian, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Swahili, Thai, Turkish, Uighar, Ukranian, Urdu, Uzbek and Vietnamese.